Port Townsend - Washington State Department of Health is urging recreational shellfish harvesters to take extra precautions and check, chill, and cook – the Three Cs – over the Labor Day weekend and into September. Read on...

Jefferson County Public Health's Water Quality Division was established in 2007 to enhance and protect the lakes, streams, and marine waters of our county. Our mission is to protect public health by monitoring and responding to threats to water quality for protection of human health and wildlife habitat by using available local, state, and federal funding effectively and efficiently.

Jefferson County has abundant natural resources, including:

40 recreational shellfish beaches

230 miles of shoreline

More than 800 lakes

Over 18,000 acres of commercial shellfish beds

Over 9,000 miles of streams

Clean Water

A Clean Water District was established to help protect water quality and shellfish beds in eastern Jefferson County. Clean Water Projects focus monitoring and pollution correction efforts in areas needing attention.

Water Quality Monitoring

Jefferson County's Clean Water Projects provide regular monitoring of bays, streams and rivers to assure they are not contaminated with non-point source pollution. Much of our monitoring efforts focus on fecal coliform bacteria, nutrient pollution and toxic algae. Data collected through these projects are analyzed and long-term trends are assessed. Results are summarized in our project reports.

Pollution Identification & Correction (PIC)

Once problem areas are identified we try to determine the sources of contamination and correct these on our Pollution Identification & Correction Program (PIC) program using standard procedures for doing our PIC work, as outlined in the PIC Protocol Manual. The PIC process is nationally recognized for being innovative and effective for addressing water quality problems.